Business Location

Lesson Details

• Subject: Business Studies
• Year Group: Year 10
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Class Size: 30 students
• Curriculum Reference: GCSE Business – Influences on Business: Business Location (AQA, Edexcel, OCR)

Lesson Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

• Identify key factors that influence business location decisions.
• Analyse the advantages and disadvantages of different locations for businesses.
• Apply their understanding to a real-world business scenario.

---

Lesson Structure

Starter Activity (10 minutes) – “Business Detective”

Objective: Engage students by encouraging critical thinking about business location.

1. Display five well-known UK business locations on the board (e.g. Canary Wharf, Birmingham's Bullring, Manchester’s Trafford Centre, a rural farm shop, and an industrial park in the Midlands).
2. Ask students:
   • What types of businesses might be here?
   • Why do you think they chose this location?
3. Pair students and give each pair an industry (e.g. retail, manufacturing, technology). They must discuss where would be the best and worst place for this business in the UK and provide a reason.
4. Brief class discussion on their answers.

---

Main Lesson (30 minutes) – The Business Location Factors

1. Explanation (10 minutes) – Teacher-Led Discussion

Introduce key factors that affect business location in the UK:

• Proximity to customers – How important is footfall? (Retail vs. online businesses)
• Transport and infrastructure – Impact of roads, rail, airports, and ports.
• Labour supply – Skilled vs. unskilled workforce availability.
• Cost of premises – London vs. the North of England cost differences.
• Competition – Why might businesses cluster together?
• Government incentives – Enterprise Zones, tax reliefs, business grants.
• Technology and connectivity – The rise of remote working and digital businesses.

Encourage students to take structured notes.

2. Class Activity (10 minutes) – The Business Location Map

• Split students into five groups.
• Assign each group a different type of business (Luxury clothing retail store, Car manufacturing plant, Tech start-up, Fast food restaurant, Tourism-related business)
• Give them a large map of the UK and sticky notes.
• They must pin three possible locations for their business and justify each choice on a sticky note.
• Groups rotate and provide constructive criticism on other group results.

3. Discussion (10 minutes) – Business Owner’s Dilemma

• Present a case study: A small café chain is looking to expand in the UK. Should they go to a city centre, a shopping mall, or a seaside town?
• Each group represents a different stakeholder (The owner, a potential investor, local residents).
• Debate the best option for the café using their knowledge of business location factors.

---

Plenary (10 minutes) – “The Perfect Location” Challenge

• Pair students and ask them:
  • If you started a business today, where would you locate it?
  • Why would this location work best?
  • What challenges could you face?
• Quickfire responses (students pitch in under 30 seconds).
• Teacher summarises key takeaways and links back to real-world business trends.

---

Assessment & Differentiation

Formative Assessment

• Cold-calling students to justify business location choices.
• Peer-to-peer feedback in group work.
• Written explanations summarising the main factors affecting business location choices.

Differentiation

• Support: Provide sentence starters or keyword prompts for students who need help formulating their answers.
• Challenge: Introduce an unexpected curveball—such as "Your retail store is now only allowed to exist online"—and ask higher-ability students to adapt their location strategy.

---

Resources Needed

✅ UK map (physical copy or digital version on the board)
✅ Sticky notes and markers
✅ Case study printouts
✅ Business location factor handouts

---

Teacher’s Reflection

• Did students apply their understanding through the case study activity?
• Were all students engaged in discussion and able to explain their decisions?
• How well did students justify location choices with evidence?
• What could be improved for next time?

---

Extension Task/Homework

Students research a UK business (e.g., Greggs, ASOS, Jaguar Land Rover) and create a short report summarising why they believe it has chosen its business locations based on today’s lesson.

---

This lesson plan ensures an interactive, discussion-led approach that engages students while ensuring deep learning. The use of real-world case studies, dynamic activities, and debate creates a memorable and high-impact lesson that aligns perfectly with the UK GCSE Business curriculum. 🚀